The Pork Checkoff has resources available to help pork producers source, hire, train and retain quality employees. This information promotes a workforce that meets the ethical principles of the Pork Checkoff We Care Initiative. Pork Checkoff Learning and Performance Manager Jim Lummus explains…
Well, we’ve got an HR, a Human Resources Starter Kit, and in that Starter Kit is all the basic components of a Human Resource Department, it’s designed for those operations that don’t’ have an HR Department, but they need those resources out there.
“So, we have an HR Starter Kit, that’s part of it, we have an on the job training program, that provided resources and procedures to once you get a person in what do you do with them for the first 180 days on the farm. Individual Training Plans, Standard Operating Procedures, How to do Each Task, they’re all layered in the On the Job Training Program. We have orientation programs, we have another package…People Skill Training for managers, it’s also part of the package.”
Lummus says a productive working relationship is an ongoing process…
“Hiring the right person is only the first step. It’s like courtship, you want to continue the courtship after the wedding takes place to keep the relationship going. Same thing with an employee, you want to continue the training and development of that employee, you want to continue the training and development, they want to know what their expectations are they need to know that there are processes in place to learn how to meet those expectations, and that there are rewards for those expectations. So, recourses should be available, for processes, procedures, and management buy-in for all those components to be in place so that employee knows I have a future with this operation, if I stay here and do my job, I can be a very important part of this team, and be rewarded for those efforts.”
Lummus believes it is important to begin by hiring the right person….
"Getting a person in the barn that fits, that has the attitude, the motivation and the desire that you have determined is appropriate for your farm. And that piece is really important, having those decisions made up front, having processes and procedures up front where you know what you want so you can get what you want.”
Stacy Revels, who is the Pork Checkoff Education Program Manager, encourages pork producers to consider “barn culture” when making employee decisions….
“Well, culture is a way of life, really a way of living. And just doing the right thing every day can be a culture. So, it’s training people, and reminding them on a constant basis that they’re producing food for the world, and that it must be done in a socially responsible way.”
The Pork Checkoff, through pork-dot-org, has tools available to assist producers in HR decisions.
This employee resource is available at www.pork.org.
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